Hello football fans!!!
There is still some college football to enjoy…and perhaps even enjoy it stress-free as us Hawk fans don’t really have a dog in the hunt.
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Thud
I don’t know how else to say it: That was a shitty effort to end the season against our newest rival. (I took it surprisingly well, as I made myself enjoy the rest of my Thanksgiving weekend and put it out of my mind. However, subsequent thoughts throughout this week about the game made me want to puke in my coffee.)
About the Game: I thought the entire Defense played really well; you can’t blame them for wearing down late when they were out on the field the entire freaking game. I also thought that the OL played well…but that Marcus Coker looked tired (understandably), our WRs looked uninterested, and that JVB played like he was starting his first game on the road.
I still love me some JVB, and I’m glad that he’s our returning QB next year. However, he HAS TO get better on the road next year (especially looking at our road schedule in October and November), and overall he HAS TO be more accurate. He won’t have Marvin McNutt to bail him out. And he has to give his receiver the ball with the ability to keep running. With that said…it would be nice if his receivers could actually catch the ball more often. Hurumph.
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Stale
That’s the word that I’ve heard over and over again the past week describing theIowaoffense, if not the Iowa Football program in general.
A few thoughts:
* Keep in mind that the Hawks are still going to a bowl – and this is the 10th straight year that the Hawks have been bowl-eligible under Ferentz. A quick mental audit says that in the B1G, only Ohio State and Wisconsin can also make that claim. Also…this was the youngest team in the conference going into this season.
* We are only 2 years removed from an 11-2 season with an Orange Bowl victory (the only BCS-level win by the program in about 60 years).
* Ferentz’s bowl record is amazing, and it’s not like the Hawks have ducked competition during that time.
* I like that fact that Kirk Ferentz is the new Dean of Big Ten Coaches…and I’d like to hang onto that for a little longer.
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With that said…
…I think a little coaching shape-up would be aok.
I love what Norm Parker has done with his time atIowa, and he deserves to be mentioned as one of the greatest D-coordinators inIowahistory along with the great Bill Brazier. But his time has come. He’s not doing any recruiting, and I think Iowa REALLY needs as much help as possible out on the recruiting trails, especially with the recent upgrades in coaching at Minnesota, Illinois (to come), and Penn State (to come). I hate to sound like a Tavern-Hawk, but a little infusion of fire from a young, hungry D-coordinator would be interesting.
I also think that another set of eyeballs on the offensive side of the ball is needed. I still want to run the same Pro-Style, run-first, “old school” offense that we’ve run the past 30+ years. But there is a need for some more creativity in certain areas, especially when you have a QB that’s obviously struggling (like how JVB was against bothPennStateandNebraska).
So once again….I want Kirk Ferentz to be our coach for several more years. I just want to see a few small tweaks to spark things up. I don’t think that makes me sound TOO Tavern-Hawk like…
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The Bowl Sit-you-aayy-tion
Obviously I’m just going off of info from what I read online, and also using a little bit of common sense (something that several web site lack, as they often times don’t take into consideration such things as travelling fan-base, if the team was there recently, etc.)
Under the assumption that Wisconsin will beat Sparty, which is n all-too-often-made assumption (more on that later), this is how the B1G bowl pecking order will go:
1) 10-2Wisconsin – Automatic – B1G Champs.
2) 10-2 Meeechigan – Name brand + rejuvenated fan base.
3) 9-3 Nebraska – Rabid fan base w/ new bowls to travel to.
4) 10-3 MichState – Getting screwed yet again
5)6-6 Ohio St – Sucks…but it’s the name brand.
6)9-3 Penn St – Controversy hurts…but they’re still a draw.
7) 7-5 Hawks – Not even sure if an 8-4 record woulda helped.
8 ) 6-6 Northwestern – Unique brand of football/Dan Persa.
9) 6-6 Purdue – Ehh…its b-ball season.
10) 6-6 Illinois – Possibly staying at home?
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If I Had a Choice
These are my choices in bowls for the Hawks – in order – taking into consideration where the game is played, the importance, and who we play. I also give a percentage of us getting there, which has less scientific value than an episode of the original ‘Land of the Lost’:
1st Choice:
Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Florida)
Monday, January 2nd (NOON)
Chances: 5%
Projected Team B1G will Play: Florida Gators
This has been the bowl that myself + several Hawk fans have had their hopes up for the past several weeks; it’s a rather prestigious bowl against an S.E.C. team. However, it looks like this ship has past Hawkeyenation after last weekend’s dud of a loss againstNebraska…coupled withOhioState’s inspiring performance against Meeechigan. Also…any bowl that can take name-brandOhioStateoverIowawill take that it…especially considering they may never have a shot at them again. It’s not unrealistic to think thatIowawould have wound up here even if they would haven beatenNebraska.
2nd Choice:
Texas Bowl (Houston, Texas)
Saturday, December 31st (11:00 AM)
Chances: 60%
Projected Team B1G will Play: Texas A&M
I may be in the minority here, as this bowl is actually two tiers lower than the Insight Bowl. I like that this is a Saturday AM bowl on New Year’s Eve, and it will be against a Big 12 team with at least a little bit of tradition and clout.
3rd Choice:
Insight Bowl (Tempe, Arizona)
Friday, December 30th (9:00 PM)
Chances: 30%
Projected Team B1G will Play: Texas (or) Baylor (or) Kansas State
The word out ofTempe,Arizonais that the straight-laced, Arizona Insight officials would like to avoid the ‘Penn State Experience’. Also, the Insight set attendance records last year having Hawkeye fans swarm theTempearea.
The only real drawback here is that Hawks were just there last year.
However, there is a great chance at a very, VERY intriguing match-up with any of the three teams mentioned above. I will also say that all three teams above scare the shit out of me too! However, I’ll take that risk for a game that gets the fans/players excited…and also for a Friday night game that I’ll have all day to get tuned up for!
4th Choice:
Ticket City Bowl (Dallas,Texas)
Monday January 2nd (NOON)
Chances: 5%
Project Team B1G will Play: SMU
I originally thought this game was played in the Jerry-Dome…but it’s played in the Cotton Bowl…so I really don’t like this bowl at all. Nothing to gain…all bad. It’s still a 1,000,000% increase in enjoyment over Detoilet, but it’s still bad. But it would be a bummer to play a game on a Monday that nobody cares about…against an opponent that nobody cares about. This would only make waves if we lost the damn game.
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Just for Laughs
November was ‘Mo-Vember’ – a month that is devoted to men everywhere growing mustaches to help support awareness for men’s health. My gal’s buddy – also now MY buddy – Dan Popehn fearlessly grew out his ‘stache and had it on display off of Grand Avenue two weekends ago.
And another buddy of mine – Shane Madsen, a fellow Hawkeye fan – also grew out his mustache and wore it around for a week. Perhaps this picture will not do a lot of justice for those you that don’t know Shaner, but the picture alone is too funny not to share!
Feel free to give to this cause!
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Week 14 “Precarious Predictions”
NCAA ATS 56-74-1
Last week ATS 3-7
Iowa ATS 6-5
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Big Ten Game of the Week
B1G CHAMPIONSHIP
(10-2) #15 Wisconsin vs. (10-2) #13 Michigan State
7:17 PM / FOX / Line: Bucky by 10
If I were a level-headed Badger fan…I would be CRINGING every time I heard a talking head (or) read an online article saying howMichiganStateis going to get run over by the Badgers. Why? BecauseMichiganState’s ‘Nobody Believes in Us’ card is growing, and this is after they’ve used it TWICE on the Badgers the past two years.
And then Vegas looked at the Sparty fire and threw big ol’ cup of WD-40 on it (makes a MUCH bigger pop than regular gas, btw) by putting a 10-point spread on the board.
Also, I’m not so sure how everybody is THAT confident in Sparty, seeing as how they dominated the Badgers 31-1 in the 2nd and 3rd quarter of their October game.
Actually…I AM pretty sure what people are seeing:MichiganStateplayed its best game of the year – by FAR – and still barely pulled out a win at home.
So with that said, if both teams play great,Wisconsinwill still win the game. I have this feeling that NEITHER will play great, but that will still be enough forWisconsinto win (just not to cover).
Sparty + the points.
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Around the country
Friday Night
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PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP
(6-6) UCLA @ (10-2) #9 Oregon vs.
7:00 PM / ESPN / Line: Ducks by 31 ½
I dare you to come up with a weirder and/or sadder back-drop for a conference championship game than what the Pac-12 has here. With the rash of firings that just took place (all of them justified) I’m sure Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott hopes this is the lowest point of the newly defined league.
I know this is atOregon, and it’s certainly not hard to picture a deflated UCLA team walking off the field after getting beat 49-7. But I HAVE TO give some consideration that UCLA is STILL playing for a spot in the Rose Bowl, and that the team and coaching staff will play loose and free.
UCLA + the points.
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Saturday
(6-5) Iowa State @ (9-2) #11 Kansas State
11:30 AM / ??? / Line: K-State by 10
Pretty interesting game with “great story” K-State going against ISU, who beat OK State just two weeks ago. YET…it’s still not on TV. The Big 12 is still kinda sad…
Kansas State covers.
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CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP
(12-0) #6 Houston vs. (10-2) #24 Southern Miss
11:00 AM / ABC / Line: Houston by 14
Probably my most favorite line of the week, as I think this is by far the best team thatHoustonas played all year, with a good defense and more than capable offense.
IOWABOWL NOTE: Feel free to cheer forHouston…unless you want to see an (11-1)Houstonin the TicketCityBowl againstIowa…which could very easily happen!
Southern Miss + the Points.
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(7-4) #22 Texas @ (8-3) #17 Baylor
3:30 PM / ABC / Line: Baylor by 3
Texasis SO over-rated at #22. Baylor is SO under-rated at #17. I just don’t thinkTexaswill have enough fire-power to keep up on the road with Baylor, playing against an RG3 who is gunning for a trip toNew York.
Baylor covers.
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S.E.C. CHAMPIONSHIP
(12-0) #1 LSU vs. (10-2) #14 Georgia
3:00 PM / CBS / Line: LSU by 14
If you put a gun up to my head and ask who wins this game?…obviously I’d go with LSU; they’ve met every challenge thrown at them, and they are the #1 team in the country for a reason.
But I once again find it amazing that the same people saying: “There’s NO WAY that LSU is getting beat this weekend!!!” - are the same people that thought Oklahoma State would walk into Bedlam without getting beat, or that Oregon wouldn’t get challenged, or….
Anything can happen. Georgiahas a good defense and one of the better QBs in the S.E.C. And the scariest thing of all? They have NOTHING to lose.
Georgia + the points.
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ACC CHAMPIONSHIP
(11-1) #5 Virginia Tech vs. (8-3) #20 Clemson
7:00 PM / ESPN / Line: Va Tech by 7
The thing that’s been killing Clemson the past month is that they haven’t had a healthy Sammy Watkins since about mid-October. He stretches the field and makes THAT big of a difference. Rumor has it that he’s healthy now and ready to roll.
But it’s hard to pick against Va Tech, who’s been in this game, seemingly, every year since the ACC had a conference championship.
Va Tech covers.
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NATIONAL GAME OF THE WEEK
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP**
(10-2) #10 Oklahoma @ (11-1) #3 Oklahoma State
7:00 PM / ABC / Line: OK St by 3 ½
(** This is NOT an official Conference Championship game, but ironically it has the most riding on it as compared to any of the ACTUAL conference championship games!) Also – it looks like I’ll have to rig up the double-TV on Saturday night, as I’ll want to keep an eye on this game on the small TV as I watch the B1G Championship on the big one.
Pros for OK State: There’s simply a better team, as shown by the fact that their only loss was in double-OT, on the road, with a distracted team.
Pros forOklahoma: They’ve been here before, and they own their little brother.
But I’m going on only my gut: anOklahomawin in a shoot-out.
Ok State + the points.
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ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO HAWKS!
- Jeffrey the Greek!
Posted by Jeff Buch 
